September 26, 2014 Edition

Valerie Castro

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

  1. Filipino, American found guilty in US terrorism case

    An American and a Filipino national face life in prison after they were found guilty Thursday, September 25, in California of plotting to aid jihadists overseas and to kill US soldiers. A jury convicted Sohiel Omar Kabir, 36, a naturalized US citizen, and Filipino Ralph de Leon, 25, at the conclusion of a 6-week trial that comes as the United States leads air strikes in Syria and Iraq against Islamic militants. The trial underlined the threat that homegrown extremists pose to the United States. The Philippines has offered to help in the war against ISIS.

    Read the full story on Rappler.

    Read more on the Philippines’ offer to help fight ISIS on Rappler.

  2. International peacekeeping operations to be reviewed

    File photo Mark Garten/UN Photo

    Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon announced he will appoint a “high-level” panel to review the peacekeeping operations in global hotspots, acknowledging that “it has been a terrible year for the principles enshrined in the United Nations Charter.” The announcement came after Filipino troops in the Golan Heights said they defied the orders of the UN’s Indian commander to surrender their weapons to Syrian rebels. The Philippine government had asked the UN to review the rules of engagement and mandate of the UN Disengagement Observer Force.

    Read the full story on Rappler.

  3. ADB confirms: PH economic growth has not trickled down

    File photo by Rappler.com

    The Philippines’ economic growth may be robust at 6.4% in the second quarter of 2014 – the country is the 2nd fastest growing in Asia in terms of gross domestic product – but this has not reduced poverty. The Asian Development Bank’s country director attributed the growth to the increasing output in the services and manufacturing sector. This has not been matched by poverty reduction measures that could generate enough jobs. From 3.8 million in 2006, the number of poor Filipinos increased to 4.2 million in 2012. Natural disasters have also kept many Filipinos below the poverty line.

    Read the full story on Rappler.

  4. PH Vice President accused of rigging bids, using dummies

    Former officials of the Philippines’ richest city, Makati, faced senators for the 6th time, making new allegations of how the former mayor, now Vice President Jejomar Binay, acquired his wealth. One alleged that no honest bidding were ever conducted for government contracts and supplies because Binay supposedly always made handwritten notes indicating which bidder should be favored. Another witness said Binay acquired prime real estate by put them in the name of dummies. Binay, whom the Senate President has refused to subpoena out of respect for his office, has said the testimonies of his erstwhile allies would not stand in court.

    Read the full stories on the bidding and the property acquisition on Rappler.

  5. Philippines slashes fund for climate change research

    The Philippine House of Representatives, which has the sole power of the purse under the Constitution, chastised the budget department for unilaterally slashing funds for climate change adaptation research from the science department’s proposed budget for 2015. The Department of Science and Technology originally proposed P5 billion ($112 million) for climate change adaptation research, the budget department reduced it to P3.8 billion ($85 million). This was revealed after President Benigno Aquino III made a commitment at the UN Climate Summit in New York to prepare for the worst of the phenomenon.

    Read the full story on Rappler.

    Here’s a Rappler summary of 6 ways climate change will affect Philippine cities.

  6. Should the world ready a standby medical corps?

    Photo by Cellou Binani/AFP

    If there are blue helmets to maintain peace in conflict zones, should the world also have “white coats” for crises like the Ebola outbreak? United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon proposed the idea as US President Barack Obama and other heads of state met at the UN to discuss what they admit is a slow and inadequate global response to the worst Ebola outbreak in history. The most severely affected countries – Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia – are overwhelmed. They have weak health systems and lack human and infrastructural resources, having only emerged from conflict and instability.

    Read the full story on Rappler.

  7. Philippine climate envoy to undertake 40-day Climate Walk

    Philippine Climate Change Commissioner Naderev “Yeb” Saño will embark on a 40-day journey on foot from Manila to Tacloban City to commemorate Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) on its anniversary and to raise awareness on climate change. On Thursday, September 25, he said he plans to start from Kilometer Zero in Rizal Park, Manila on October 2. He should reach Tacloban City in Leyte on November 8, exactly a year from Yolanda. It will be a journey of more than 800 kilometers.

    Read the full story on Rappler.

  8. ‘Bash” computer bug has widespread repercussions

    The US government and technology experts warned Thursday, September 25, of a vulnerability in some computer operating systems, including Apple’s Mac OS, which could allow widespread and serious attacks by hackers. The flaw – called Bash or Shellshock by computer experts – affects “Unix-based operating systems” powered by Linux and Apple’s Mac OS, said the warning from the US Computer Emergency Readiness Team (CERT), part of the Department of Homeland Security. CERT said that if hackers exploit this they could take control of a PC: “Exploitation of this vulnerability may allow a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code on an affected system.”

    Read the full story on Rappler.

  9. Yelena Serova to be first woman cosmonaut in 17 years

    Russia’s Yelena Serova on Thursday, September 25, prepared to become the first woman cosmonaut in 17 years. The 38-year-old space engineer, with dark hair pulled into a tight bun and a strong resolute face, has spent 7 years preparing for the role and her husband is also a former trainee cosmonaut. She is due to blast off in a Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 20:25 GMT Thursday with Russian cosmonaut Alexander Samokutyaev and Barry Wilmore of NASA.

    Read the full story on Rappler.

  10. Emma Watson’s nude photo leak site a fake?

    Shortly after her rousing speech on feminism and gender equality at the United Nations, actress Emma Watson faced threats of having naked photos uploaded online. The site however, no longer displays the countdown and instead, redirects to the Rantic.com homepage which calls for the shutting down of messaging board 4Chan. Rantic claims to be a “social media marketing enterprise that has participated in some of the most viral campaigns and music videos.” Though the short description on Rantic.com says that they were “hired by celebrity publicists” to bring the privacy leak issue via 4Chan to attention, Time reports that no celebrities have come forward to say they were working with Rantic.

    Read the full story on Rappler.

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